So I learned a lesson: on Wednesday, (just like the previous Wednesday) I was experimenting with relatively short exposure times, about 1/4 sec. That had given me good results the first time, but this week I wasn’t doing so well. China’s show didn’t have a lot of big showy ‘splosions like Canada’s, instead focusing on short, small bursts that disappeared quickly. I thought it was quite neat and original, but a lot more challenging to shoot. I ended up being disappointed by most of those photos, and had to rethink my strategy.
See, I realised fireworks aren’t just about colour and light, they’re about motion too. Short exposures don’t really show them off properly, and that’s if I get a good shot. Plus, there’s too much pixel noise. But wouldn’t you know, my camera has a setting just for fireworks? I’d tried it only once on the 23rd, then abandoned it though it produced an awesome picture. But yeah, it really does work a lot better than all my fiddling. I’ll keep that in mind for next year.
